11

Eleven seems like a rather ordinary number. Kind of plain, repetitive, nothing too special.

But today it is very special. Today, 11 stands for the number of years Nathan and I have been married. Eleven years that the Lord has seen fit to give us, to grow us, to make us more into his likeness as we learn to love Christ and each other more. Eleven years filled with romance, laughter, tears, joy, passion, sadness, tough decisions, pregnancies, jobs, dirty diapers, loud children, craziness and more. Words cannot begin to express how daily I am blessed by my husband. I thought I loved him a lot when we got married--but I love him so much more now. I thought I knew him well five years ago, but our friendship and companionship is so much deeper now. The growth in our marriage does not come in any way from ourselves, but from Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith and the foundation of our marriage. Happy Anniversary, Nathan! I love you so much more than simple words can express, and I look forward to many, many more years of this marriage journey with you.

photos courtesy of kd316

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5 (ESV)

Just for fun, read our story, and see my seventh, eighth, and ninth anniversary posts. Eleanor was born right before our tenth, so there is no post about that. She was our tenth anniversary present :-)